Abstract

'So long as religion is about ultimate truth and commitment to the sacred, to a vision of a utopia described in holy scriptures, men and women will be defenders of the faith and willing soldiers in the battles for God' (p. 205).

This is the concluding statement and a good summary of the thoughtful treatise on religion and violence by Charles Selengut, professor, author, and expert on religious fundamentalism. His basic thesis is that though all religions provide a foundation for and teach positive social values and even oppose injustice and violence, there are also within all religions the seeds for violence and war. Thus, most wars, especially recent wars have some element of religion associated with them.